Lion Head Mesa the only thing that haunts this house is me

this is dated closer to jan 18th (calling for fluid time mechanics here); i got covid and intended on getting this up sooner.  the limit two isn't a hard one, but i do prefer quicker threads with fewer folks.  thanks!!

it was not long after she had been introduced to the druids that she set upon her mission.  after bathing in the ocean and ridding herself of what little blackwater scent was on her, she set out for akashingo.

in her head, she repeated what the listener had told her.  but why the shadow trusted her, she did not know.

once she arrived at their borders, she gave them a more-than-respectful amount of distance, tipping her muzzle to the air and calling for their leaders.

It wasn't often Sayf found himself with free time these days. It was actually starting to wear on him a little. The hebsut was used to more freedom. He missed seeing others. He missed his giant. How long had it been since he had seen him? He was practically starving for the mazoi, and there was no relief in sight. 

He was close enough to the borders when he heard the call, and he quickly made his way to the stranger. A petite, beautiful woman waited there.

Sayf stopped in front of her and bowed his head. My lady, he greeted. What can Akashingo do for you?

it was not long before she was approached.  she thought the well-patrolled borders to be a good sign.

good day, sir, and thank you for coming so quickly. she says.  i am marina, an ambassador of the druids.  we reside on the coast, on a set of three islands, and spend our time in the pursuit of knowledge and the development of our skills

the man's question invited little small talk, and that she was thankful for.  she wouldn't know what to say about herself, and was keen on getting back to her sisters, but she had plenty of words to spare for her mission.

we are seeking to establish ourselves, and align with other packs who might be interested in what we have to offer.  are you who i would need to speak with?

she would leave it there, for she did not know who she spoke to, or the authority he had to offer.

Sayf smiled shyly and bowed his head again in response to her thanks. He listened with an intent gaze as she spoke of druids and an island. She said they devoted their time to knowledge and betterment of their skills. 

He had no idea what a druid was, but it seemed foreign and interesting, that along with her request for an alliance piqued his interest even more; he knew his master would also be interested in hearing her proposition. 

The pharaoh is who you will need to speak with, he explained softly. He is the only one who can make those decisions.

Sayf dipped his head. Come with me, my lady, and I will take you to him. He turned to head into the mesa, moving only when he was sure the pretty stranger followed. Even if the pale god was not interested in her request, Sayf thought he might be intrigued with her beauty.

pharoh, he says, so exotic it piques her interest.  she nods, offering a smile, and (perhaps foolishly) doesn't even think to hesitate before following him into the mesa.

He brought Marina through the mesa and up the stone steps to the throne room where his master was likely to be. 

His heart beat with excitement in his chest as he came to a stop outside. Pharaoh? he called softly inside. The scent of @Ramesses filled his nose, reminding him of the pale god's strength and power. I have someone you will want to meet, he added.

Then he waited to be summoned inside.

just beyond his throne room, ramesses enjoyed a post-meal repose provided by the dancing belen. she was laughing, catching her breath in the sprawl of pelts that dominated the center of his bedchamber.
sayf's voice sounded. the alabastrine regent turned with a smile to himself. "perhaps he will join us."
he strode languid and tousled to answer the summons.
his servant was not alone when ramesses came upon him. pharaoh's eyes alighted upon sayf with warm desire, and then settled with a simmering interest upon the stranger.
lithe in a cowl of silken sand, eyes like seaglass. he lifted his chin. "what gemstone comes to grace the court of akashingo?" his voice was sweetened; teasing.
but the lapis eyes did not abate in their intensity.

she heard a woman's laughter.  the sound was almost unbearably enticing to her.  how long had it been since she had heard someone in such joyful repose?  had she ever?  the thought was a dancing shimmer in her eyes as the pharoh came forth from his throne room.  he had a boyish look to him,

his covetous look is first directed at the man who had greeted her.  had she ever experienced such a man herself, it might have made her blush.  but then he turns his gaze to her and she nearly loses herself anyway.  she didn't realize her lips had parted upon his arrival.  she cleared her throat.

thank you for meeting with me, sir.  obviously, his time could be better spent elsewhere.  she fought the urge to glance back at his throne room.  i am marina, an ambassador of the druids.  she did not know what the culture was like here, but decided to err on the side of respect by giving a deep bow of her slender head.  your colleague brought me to you because my pack is seeking to align ourselves with packs who are interested in what the druids have to offer.  she paused here.

with respect to your time, would you have a moment to discuss?

The pharaoh was pleased, and butterflies danced in Sayf's stomach in response. He burned under his master's gaze, knowing if they didn't have a guest, the three of them would be having a completely different kind of meeting. 

The hebsut rubbed against the pharaoh as he walked past him, leaving the ambassador of the druids to be the sole focus of the pale god. 

He trotted over to the pile of pelts and leaped into them to sit next to Belen, offering a playful nip to her jaw as he settled to watch. He was still very curious how this would go.

ramesses saw the slight moue of her mouth and chose to believe that he could attribute this to himself. as she spoke, pharaoh climbed easily into his throne and sprawled across its stone surface to regard the emissary from a higher perch.
he drank her in like fresh-pressed wine; marina of the druids, offering a trade. an alliance. ramesses saw beyond her fluted words. he had danced these steps many times before.
he did not immediately answer. instead the man chuffed for tavina who arrived in a moment's time. "have a meal brought for our guest."
ramesses looked at marina again.
"what is it you have to offer?" having beheld her, ramesses was prepared with his own requests.

sorry, i've tried to find a better way to word this thread a million times so i'm just gonna roll with what i've got.  you're also a gem for replying to all of cerulean's ambassador threads!!!

she watches the one who brought her here go into the pharoh's room, and she feels a twinge in her chest as she remembers the woman's hearty laugh.

then the pharoh calls to have a meal brought for them.  she is grateful for this, for she didn't realize her hunger until the thought of it made her mouth water. 

she realizes she should have brought something of her own.  unlike the pharoh, cerulean had never walked this line.  she would have to keep this in mind.  perhaps not for this trip, but the next.

the thought is cut short when he returns to business.

medicine and safe harbor to anyone who requires it, she explains.  they could be local, or just passing through.  if they are transient and skilled, we aim to send them to our allies if they would prefer to live somewhere other than with us.

but providing a steady trickle of numbers was not all they had.  we would also offer resources and skilled members to our allies when the need arises.

there was a price for everything. the druids are quiet, solitary.  we seek only knowledge and to develop our skills, in the pursuit of helping one another.  in return, we would only ask for information.  relevant news.

i am so so so sorry D;

pharaoh's smile deepened. "i too might wield information well. akashingo controls the flatlands with allies and outposts on either side. hunters to the west and soldiers to the east."
he tested her with a rich lapis of his gaze.
"and you have an oasis upon the sands where many might go to be healed." he gazed at the curve of her mouth as he spoke; pausing. teasing.
allies. resources. druids. "i enjoy beautiful things, marina. they temper my blood so that i might consider such offers."
ramesses did not elaborate. she was diplomatic. perhaps beneath her ambassador's robe her body might recognize his implication.
it had been a long while since he had tasted the sea. "in my court, alliances are formed through lineage. marriage. the creation of lines between kingdoms that mean to prove fruitful."
ramesses stood. "perhaps you might come with me to the top of the mesa? the air is clear. the stars are lovely." his gaze stroked her face. "we will be able to speak more upon this."

you're fine... right back at you :(

she felt something click in place, like she may have just set some dangerous central power up with the last thing he needed secure his rule of the world.  but, it was what she was here to do, and she found herself powerless under his gaze.  she did not understand why, and any grasp she made towards it fizzled before it had a chance to begin. 

he talks of marriage, lineage, things that had little use to her. it might have seemed impossible given the beauty cerulean beheld, but she had never fallen beneath the gaze of men the way she did in the wilds.

what could marriage be to a woman who had never been considered? 

still, she could not help but to follow him.  she looked at him like she was captured by him, like she belonged to him.  it would be my pleasure to share the view, pharoh.  she bowed her head, and if he moved she would begin to follow.  you must hold many considerations, she says.  these social frames, balanced between so many entities.  she had been quite distant from the leaders of her natal pack; to see it up close made her ache for them.  it was a weight to carry.  the hunters, brecheliant?  she would hold bridget close to her heart, but offer, they are good people.

<3

he swept grandly from the room, keeping pace alongside marina as he found the winding path that would lead them to the flat top of the palace. brecheliant was a place of peasants but if they could produce an alliance then he would not find them more wanting. 
ramesses did not say this, however. the stars were bright and shone down over akashingo as he and the lovely druid exited to stand upon the wide stone roof.
the flatlands stretched in all directions, rife with snow and punctuated by stands of bare forest. ribbons of glittering ice marked where creeks and streams would one day unfreeze. only the red land of the mesa was bare of white, as if winter could not quite force its grasp here.
there was a couch of skins. he bid their guest sit and took up a place alongside her. 
in time food and drink was quietly carried to the pair.
ramesses smiled when they were alone once more. "the girl belen — she has been trained for many things. and she is worldly. she seeks knowledge. she would be a pleasurable counterpart to a king or to a prince."
his eyes were upon marina. they drank of her own gaze, her shoulders, the smooth column of her throat. "perhaps in the spring you might return for her. i would send her as an emissary for a short while. she would serve the druids in any way you saw fit, provided she is returned to akashingo after six months, unscathed."
pharaoh toyed with marina's gaze, drawing it after his own.
"this of course would change if you meant to marry her off."
voice falling low, hushed. ramesses was silent, watching the ambassador to know if she remained responsive beneath his stare.

the short voyage mutes their conversation.  she finds this to be a relief.  she was painfully aware that she was inexperienced in many ways when compared to the worldly king, and though the mask of ambassador prevented her from showing it so outwardly, the conversation held much tension for her.

a flame lights in her chest as he smiles upon her, weaving her a tale of her own success.  not only was there potential interest in an alliance, he already had someone to provide for them.  it is not ambition that springs forth but relief, for in securing this she might save her sister's life.

her gaze refused to settle as she listened, bashfully, to his talk of marriage.

these were things that required heavy consideration.  doubt of her abilities swirled through her until it settled in her gut, where it gurgled anxiously, tangled with her hunger.   

thank you for your offer, she begins, looking at him once more.  he was attentive in a way that made her feel naked.  it frightened her, but she did not turn away.  we would gladly accept belen's company.  to teach and to learn from.

she did not know the wolves of blackwater well, but she remembered seeing many men at their communal gathering.  we have bachelors on our islands, she says.  all of them skilled. 

our listener would have the final decision, she elaborates, but we could wait until she has settled with us, and with them, before we decide.

...could this happen to her, too?  she was not sure what to make of a life that had been determined.  but isn't that how it already was?  predetermined?  everything now was up to the listener, which meant it was up to the unnamed god.  to chaos.

too much was at stake for these thoughts to consider, but one day they might weigh upon her heavily.

marina seemed moved by and by. her eyes which had been averted from his own now came to rest upon her. pharaoh gestured with a tilt of his head toward the array of meats which had been laid out before them. "you have traveled a long way. i intend for you to find respite so long as you are within my palace."
many bachelors. it was not quite the life he meant for belen, but she was a resourceful and saucy little servant. in some ways she reminded pharaoh of maggie. "she has served the queen and i well in akashingo. i have little doubt she would be a fitting ambassador."
politics was practiced and now it dulled along his tongue.
or perhaps it was only being up here, beneath the cold arch of glittering stars, their glow illuminating the perfect seawater sylph at his side.
"your listener. what is it they are wanting to hear?" wordplay upon the name of her ruler; ramesses however did not care overmuch to hear of a leader who was not himself.
he wanted to touch her, but it was not yet the moment.
instead the royal gaze filled with a tantalizing desire, one which beheld and gilded and appreciated. "for that matter, marina, what is it you are wanting to hear?"
it came to pass that they spoke the same words.
marina yielded. ramesses consumed. in time they exchanged these roles, burning for hours in the pristine bedchamber of the haughty king.
he would keep her for as long as she was willing to remain.
blackwater would come again for belen, marina assured. ramesses thought only of when he might see her again, and when it came the hour for her to depart, pharaoh himself saw her off with great fanfare.